Warning signal relay and system

ABSTRACT

The switch is designed to be used in a washing machine to sense an out-of-balance condition of the tub during the spin cycle. The assembly is wired into the washer with the coil in series with the washer motor but the coil is normally shunted by a switch which is self biased to its &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;closed&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; position bridging the coil terminals. In this condition the motor operation is normal. When an out-of-balance tub in a clothes washer bumps the wand projecting from the armature the armature is moved to the core of the coil and actuates the switch plunger to open the switch, thus placing the coil in series with the motor. The relatively high impedance of the coil relative to the motor impedance limits motor current so the motor stops. The A-C supply to the coil causes the armature to vibrate (buzz) giving an audible signal that the washer has stopped due to an unbalanced load. The washer is restored to normal by opening the line switch which deenergizes the coil to thereby release the armature and permit the switch to reclose and restore the coil shunt.

tinited States Patent n91 idalhale et a1.

| 1March 13, 1973 1 1 WARNllNG SKGNAL RELAY AND SYSTEM [75]lnventorszAbedl G. Kahale, Roselle; Kenji Yatsushiro, Chicago; ThaddeusS. Wielgos, Des Plaines, all of 111.

[73] Assignee: Controls Company of America, Melrose Park, Ill.

[22] Filed: Sept. 3, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 177,799

[52] 1.1.S. CL. ..340/261, 200/6145 M, 210/144, 318/460 [51] int. Cl...G08b 21/00 [58] Field of Search ..340/261;' 200/52 R, 153 T,

61.45 R, ZOO/61.45 M; 73/66; 318/460; 210/144 [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS Waugh ..210 144 Primary Examiner.lohn W. CaldwellAssistant ExaminerGlen R. Swann, I11 Att0rney-John W. Michael et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT The switch is designed to be used in a washing machine tosense an out-of-balanee condition of the tub during the spin cycle. Theassembly is wired into the washer with the coil in series with thewasher motor but the coil is normally shunted by a switch which is selfbiased to its closed position bridging the coil terminals. In thiscondition the motor operation is normal. When an out-of-balance tub in aclothes washer bumps the wand projecting from the armature the armatureis moved to the core of the coil and actuates the switch plunger to openthe switch, thus placing the coil in series with the motor. Therelatively high impedance of the coil relative to the motor impedancelimits motor current so the motor stops. The A-C supply to the coilcauses the armature to vibrate (buzz) giving an audible signal that thewasher has stopped due to an unbalanced load. The washer is restored tonormal by opening the line switch which de-energizes the coil to therebyrelease the armature and permit the switch to reclose and restore thecoil shunt.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures WARNING SIGNAL RELAY AND SYSTEM BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates tokickout switches for domestic clothes washers. These switches or warningsignal relays are designed to be actuated when the washer is subjectedto an unbalanced load, causing the tub to oscillate or gyrate beyonddesired limits. When actuated, the kickout switch functions to stop thedrive motor and also energize a buzzer, giving the user an audiblesignal that the machine has stopped and the load must be more evenlydistributed.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the past the most common andsuccessful kickout switch had a pivoted armature normally held away fromthe core of the relay coil and provided with a wand which was positionedto be bumped by the wash machine tub when it gyrated beyond a desiredlimit. This, then, would push the armature to the core and at the sametime the armature actuated a single pole double throw snap switch whichwould de-energize the wash machine motor and energize the coil circuitwhereby the armature would then beheld against the core of the coil andvibrate at line frequency, that is, it would develop the 60-I-Iertzbuzz, giving the signal to the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The construction described in the Abstracteliminates a number of wiring connections, eliminates a double throwsnap switch, and considerably reduces cost.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a side elevation of the switch.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view with part broken away to show the switch.

FIG. 3 is an end view with a portion of the terminal and switch housingbroken away to show details of the switch.

FIG. 4 is a schematic wiring diagram showing the manner in which thekickout switch is connected in the motor circuit.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An encapsulated coil has elongatedterminals 12,14 projecting from one side. A formed resilient switchblade 16 is mounted on terminal 12 and projects down across and up tounderlie terminal 14 with the blade contact I8 normally biased againstcontact carried by terminal 14. The plastic cover 22 is slipped over theterminals until an aperture on the projecting upper surface 24 overliesthe center hole in the coil and the key 26 projecting upwardly from thecoil is received in a cooperating slot in the upper surface 24. The core28 tits in the center aperture of the coil with the head of the coreresting against the upper surface 24 of the plastic housing 22. Theassembly of the plastic housing and coil is assembled to the bracket 32by passing the assembly through (from right to left in FIG. ll) acooperating aperture in the end or vertical portion 30 of bracket 32.The core then projects through the bottom 34 of the bracket and the endof the core is peened over as at 36 to retain the coil and plastichousing in proper orientation to the bracket 32.

Plastic plunger 38 fits in a cooperating aperture in the upper surface24 of the plastic housing so the guide pin 40 passes through acooperating aperture in the blade 16 and into a cooperating hole in thebottom of the plastic housing, thus constraining the plunger to verticalmovement and positioning it so that the shoulder portion 42 will actuatethe blade 16 when the plunger is moved downwardly. Normally the plungeris biased upwardly by the self bias of the resilient blade 16.

The armature 44 has one end provided with a T- shaped projection 46which is received in a slot in the upper portion of the end 30 ofbracket 32. The tab 48 is bent under the armature into alignment withthe end of the bracket 30 to provide a pivot support and retain thearmature connected to the bracket. The armature projects over the coreand normally is inclined upwardly by the strength of the self bias ofthe switch blade acting on the armature through the plunger. A wand 50has one end turned down to project through the armature and the armaturehas a tab overlying and bent against the wand at 52 while at the freeend of the armature the wand is bent down through the cooperating slot,thus firmly securing the wand. A small non-magnetic rivet 54 is mountedin the armature over the core so as to provide only a small contact areawith the core to insure the armature moving away from the core as the-I-Iertz voltage swings through zero and thus insure a good buzz at60-I'Iertz.

The free end of the wand projects into proximity of the tub in a washerso as to be engaged by the tub should the tub start to gyrateexcessively. The washer and the tub in the washer are not shown, thisbeing conventional.

The present kickout switch is wired into the washer as indicated in FIG.4, that is, the drive motor 56 for the washer and the coil 10 are inseries across the linebut are normally shunted by the kickout switch asindicated. When the tub hits the end of the wand the armature is moveddown against the core of the coil and at the same time the plunger 38moves down to move the blade I6 downwardly and open contacts 18 and 20.At this moment the coil 10 is no longer shunted by the switch and thecoil therefor is now in series with the wash machine motor 56. The highimpedance of the coil compared to the low impedance of the motoreffectively limits the current available to the motor and the motorstops while the coil continues to be energized. The armature will nowvibrate or buzz at the frequency of the A-C supply.

We claim:

I. A kickout switchfor washing machines comprising:

a coil including terminals and a core member,

a normally closed switch across the terminals to normally shunt thecoil,

an armature member,

means interconnecting said members for movement of one to and from theother, means biasing the members apart,

means connecting the armature member and switch whereby the switch isopened when said members are moved together.

2. A kickout switch according to claim 1 in combination with the drivemotor of a washing machine, includmg,

an electrical circuit placing said terminals in series with the motorwhereby the motor functions normally when the coil is shunted by saidswitch and the motor stops when the switch opens and the coil is inseries with the motor at which time the high impedance of the coilrelative to the impedance of the motor limits the current to the motor.3. A kickout switch according to claim 1 including, a housing enclosinga major portion of the terminals, said switch being located in saidhousing and comprising,

a blade mounted on one of the terminals and having its free end normallycontacting the other terminal,

said connecting means comprising a plunger guided by the housing andacting on the blade,

a bracket supporting the coil and housing,

said armature member being pivoted on the bracket and acting on theplunger to open the switch as said members move into contact.

4. An assembly according to claim 3 in which the housing includes anaperture in alignment with the center of the coil and the core memberhas an enlarged head overlying the housing and extends through the coiland bracket and the extending portion is peened over to fix the coil andhousing to the bracket.

5. A control circuit for a motor comprising,

an electrical motor,

a buzzer including a relay including a coil and a core and having anarmature which emits an audible signal when vibrating against the coreof the relay coil while the coil is energized by A-C voltage,

saidmotor and relay being in series across an A-C voltage supply wherebythe motor stops when the relay is energized due to the motor currentlimiting effect by reason of the relatively high impedance of the coilcompared to the motor impedance,

a switch normally shunting the relay coil and connected to the armaturefor operation to open position by the armature when an external forcemoves the armature and the core together.

Dedication 3,720,936.Abed G. Kahale, Roselle, Kenjz' Yatsushz'm,Chicago, and Thaddeus S. Wz'elgos, Des Plaines, I11. WARNING SIGNALRELAY AND SYSTEM. Patent dated Mar. 13, 1973. Dedication filed Oct. 23,1973, by the assignee, Gontwls Oompany 0 f Amem'ca. Hereby dedicates tothe Public the remaining term of said patent.

[Ofiicz'al Gazette Febmary 5, 1974] Dedication 3,720,936.Abed G. Kahale,Roselle, Kenji Yatsushiwo, Chicago, and Thaddeus S. Wielgos, DesPlaines, I11. WARNING SIGNAL RELAY AND SYSTEM. Patent dated Mar. 13,1973. Dedication filed Oct. 23, 1973, by the assignee, Controls Company0 f Amem'ca. Hereby dedicates to the Public the remaining term of saidpatent.

[Ofiicz'al Gazette Febmar'y 5, 1.97.4]

1. A kickout switch for washing machines comprising: a coil includingterminals and a core member, a normally closed switch across theterminals to normally shunt the coil, an armature member, meansinterconnecting said members for movement of one to and from the other,means biasing the members apart, means connecting the armature memberand switch whereby the switch is opened when said members are movedtogether.
 1. A kickout switch for washing machines comprising: a coilincluding terminals and a core member, a normally closed switch acrossthe terminals to normally shunt the coil, an armature member, meansinterconnecting said members for movement of one to and from the other,means biasing the members apart, means connecting the armature memberand switch whereby the switch is opened when said members are movedtogether.
 2. A kickout switch according to claim 1 in combination withthe drive motor of a washing machine, including, an electrical circuitplacing said terminals in series with the motor whereby tHe motorfunctions normally when the coil is shunted by said switch and the motorstops when the switch opens and the coil is in series with the motor atwhich time the high impedance of the coil relative to the impedance ofthe motor limits the current to the motor.
 3. A kickout switch accordingto claim 1 including, a housing enclosing a major portion of theterminals, said switch being located in said housing and comprising, ablade mounted on one of the terminals and having its free end normallycontacting the other terminal, said connecting means comprising aplunger guided by the housing and acting on the blade, a bracketsupporting the coil and housing, said armature member being pivoted onthe bracket and acting on the plunger to open the switch as said membersmove into contact.
 4. An assembly according to claim 3 in which thehousing includes an aperture in alignment with the center of the coiland the core member has an enlarged head overlying the housing andextends through the coil and bracket and the extending portion is peenedover to fix the coil and housing to the bracket.